Death of David Dale Owen

One of the most eminent men of science in America has lately been laid in "the narrow house appointed for all living." We regret to state that true and unostentatious worth is frequently so little regarded by the public, th a t i t i s pass e d by al mos t unheeded This was the case with Diivid Diile Owen, the dist i n gu i s h e d geo logist, who died at New Harmony, Ind., on the 13th ult. W h il e flaming acco u n t s of the late Sir Oharles Napier w e re ge n erally c opi ed from the B ri t i s h press, an obscure and brief n o tice from a W e s te rn paper was all that was communicated to the p u bl i c of the d ea th of Mr. Owen, w h o was a tir gre a te r manin the proper sense o f greatnessthi n tlic d c c eji se d admiral of the En gl i s h fl e e t
David Dalle Owen was a member of a most remark-a ble fa m i ly. His father was the famous Robe r t O w e n, the fanciful but honest philanthropist, who, for many year s, filled a l a rge space in the eye of the worl d, hy h i a writings on educjition and a s s ociate d labor communities. Old Robert wais oftentimes calledand with much share of justice " the father of the improved factory sys-tem." He did mnch to advance the machinery for spin-i n g and wea v i ng cotton, and he w a s among the earliest managers of a cotton factory in Manchester. As the superintending pa r tne r of th e cotton mills at New Lan-
ark, Scotland, he made it a model factory, and the fame of this establishment attracted visitors from all parts of the world. In his labors he was counseled and assis ted by his father-in-law, David Dale, Esq., of Rose Bank, near Glasgow, one of the most wealthy men and noblest christians in that country, and on whose death Owen declared that the world seemed like a blank In order to carry out his peculiar views l'e-garding communities of associated labor, Robert Owen purchased, about thirty years ago, a large tract of land in Indiana, and called it New Harmony, whore his system was tried and failed. This is what led the family to em igrate to this country.
Tli3 deceased gentleman wa^ known to be a prodigy of scientific learning. He was an excellent chemist, a thorough miueralogist, a good civil engineer, and as a geological slirveyor, he perhaps had no equal. He was a very active experimenter and, when not absent on geological tours, was constantly engaged in making analyses of minerals in the vast laboratory which he possessed at New Harmony. In 1838, he made the first geological survey of Indiana, and was subsequently appointed by the United States government to make a survey of the Northwest Territory. His report of this great undertaking was published at much expense by the government, and it is held to be one of the most able scientific works extant, both on account of the beauty and correc t ness of its illustrations and the felicity of its descriptions. After completing it, he was successively employed by the States of Kentucky and Arkansas to make geological surveys, and at the period of his death he was State geologist of Indiana. He was brother to Robert D. Owen, late United States Minister to Naplesauthor of a very peculiar work on mental and spiritual phenomenaand also brother to Professor Richard D. Owen, who is an original writer on scientific subjects. In private and public life, Dr. Owen was respected and admired for his integrity and urbanity; he possessed the best geological collection in the western country, and in h im Indiana has lost her most solid man of science.
IRON AND WOOD SCREW PROPELLERS.In an article in the last number of the London Quarterly Review, on ships and their construction for war purposes, the writer states that all screw propellers should be built of iron for the following reasons. He says :" There is not a single sci-ew vessel of wood belongi ng to any port in England which has been built since the first experiments were tried ; the fact being that it is impossible to frame timber together with sufficient strength to resist the working of a powerful screw acting with the enormous leverage due to its position in the vessel. So much is this the case that our full-powered liners or frigates can only use their screws in exceptional cases. If driven at full speed the seams open, the caulking escapes, and the whole vessel i s so shaken as to become unfit for service in a very short time. No science, in fact, can frame wood firmly enough for the purpose, while it is very easy to make an iron hull sufficiently strong to resist the action of any screw driven by any engi ne that human hands can forge."
This is a question of vast importance to enterprizing shipbuilders and ship owners. Quite a number of l arge American wooden propellers have been built, but all have failed of entire success as merchant vessels, while foreign built iron screw steamers have become numerous in our ports. If the writer in the London Quarterly is correct, we have now a clue to the cause of failure in our wooden-built ocean screw steamers. The course for us to pursue in view of this is to build iron vessels of this class. Three iron steamboats were constructed at New York during the past year ; an iron screw steamer for Cromwell's Wilmington, (N. C.) line is now being built at the Novelty Woiks, and at the same establishment another iron steamer with a stern wheel is also bei ng constructed to run upon the Magdelina river (S. A.) We are making some progress in iron shipbuilding ; but there is s till great room for a further extension of the business.
SCHAFER'S PUMP.We see that this pomp is receiving the very warm encomiums of the press. It is arranged to increase the length of the stroke of the piston ; and it is therefore adapted to situations ia which the power is

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